Chatsworth Gets Some Good News With the Bad

On the eve of its season opener, the Chatsworth High football team received mixed news regarding two linemen who sought athletic eligibility after transferring from Montclair Prep.

The City Section Rules Committee voted Thursday to deny Dan Crespo’s bid for eligibility, but ruled in favor of Hugh Hall. Both filed hardship appeals, necessary when players who have not changed residences seek eligibility at a new school.

Hall, a two-way junior tackle who is sidelined indefinitely with a back injury, succeeded after petitioning on grounds of financial hardship. Both players reside in the Chatsworth attendance area, Coach Myron Gibford said.

Crespo, a junior who was scheduled to start at center, petitioned for hardship on academic grounds, Gibford said. Crespo, who is enrolled in college preparatory courses at Chatsworth, transferred after claiming that Montclair Prep’s academic workload wasn’t challenging enough, Gibford said.

“There wasn’t anything submitted that qualified as normal criteria for hardship,” City Commissioner Hal Harkness said.

Chatsworth, which plays host to Palisades in an opener tonight at 7, has advanced to the City 3-A Division semifinals or beyond in each of the past two seasons.

“Apparently, they’re not interested in education,” said Alfredo Crespo, a psychologist and the player’s father.

Crespo will appeal the decision.

Woodland Hills Recreation Center is sponsoring a Punt, Pass and Kick competition Sept. 18 for boys and girls ages 8 to 15.

Information: 818-883-9370.

Basketball

Nikki Brodowy, a member of Hart High’s 1989 girls’ Southern Section 5-A Division championship team, has been named Pepperdine’s scholar-athlete of the year for 1992-93.

Brodowy, a senior forward, averaged 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while helping the Waves to a 15-15 record and a third-place finish in the West Coast Conference.

Brodowy, who majored in sports medicine, posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.74.

Tryouts for American Roundball Corp. boys and girls traveling teams will be held Saturday and Sunday at North Hollywood High from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Information: 818-995-3761.

Tennis

Volunteers are being sought for the Infiniti Champions tournament from Sept. 29-Oct. 3 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

Information: 805-373-5202 or 310-824-1010.

Golf

The L.A. City Senior Men’s Golf Championship will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Harding and Wilson courses at Griffith Park.

Last year, Bill Brooks of Simi Valley, playing in his first senior tournament, fired rounds of 80 and 71 at Rancho Park Golf Course to win the title.

Participants must be age 50 or older to participate.

Information: 213-485-4871.

The North Hollywood-based Southern California Golf Assn. has reached an agreement to purchase the Rancho California Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones, in Riverside County.

The course, located in Murrieta, becomes the first SCGA members’ course in organization history.

Once the deal is finalized, the SCGA will become only the second such organization in the nation to own and operate a golf course, joining the Northern California Golf Assn., which owns Poppy Hills Golf Course on the Monterey Peninsula.